Poison Ivy #20 – G. Willow Wilson, Writer; Marcio Takara, Artist; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: G. Willow Wilson has taken us deep into Poison Ivy’s origin in a way we’ve never seen before, following Pamela Isley as an ambitious and determined young student who falls under the thrall of the world’s foremost experimental botanist—Jason Woodrue. She soon gains his favor, being chosen to assist in his most secret experiments even over his other proteges like Alec Holland. But the deeper she gets into his world, the more sinister edges emerge around him. Woodrue is increasingly obsessive, potentially experimenting on himself, and becomes verbally abusive when things get out of her control (as in, a Venus Fly Trap running around the place under its own power). Pamela continues to try to impress him, but Woodrue is becoming increasingly difficult to talk to, and it soon becomes clear why—he’s taken on a new protege named Bella Garten, and the two women are immediately played against each other.
Of course, we know how this story goes, with Garten becoming The Gardner and Ivy’s first love, but along the way there is a lot of tension between the two. It feels a little abrupt when their mutual dislike turns to passion, but once that happens, it’s very interested to see them contrasted against each other. Bella’s always been the more self-aware of the two, and she sees Woodrue for what he is as well. Pamela, by contrast, has always had an obsessive personality that makes her vulnerable to exploitation, and although Bella tries to come up with a way for the two of them to escape together, it’s not to be. The final pages of the issue lead up to the moment we’ve all known was coming, and Pamela’s decision and how she comes to it adds some very interesting new colors to her origin story. This has been a fascinating read that really brings the whole series full-circle.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
